New Hartford, NY -- A 73-year-old Walmart employee who had just left work crashed his car in the shopping center parking lot and died Saturday, New Hartford police said.

Melvin D. Wood, of Utica, had just left work at the Walmart Supercenter in the Consumer Square shopping plaza in New Hartford around 4 p.m. when the crash happened, police said in a news release.

"As Wood was driving from the store toward a roadway leading to the plaza exit, he was apparently stricken with a sudden medical event and crashed into the guide rail post," Sgt. Robert S. Philo said in the release.

When police arrived, Wood was unresponsive. Police said patrons in the parking lot, as well as the first arriving police and fire personnel performed CPR. Wood was taken to St. Luke's Healthcare, where resuscitation efforts continued, police said. Wood was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The accident remains under investigation. Anyone who saw the crash can call Philo at the police department at (315) 733-6666.